BC Central and North Coasts, Crossing to Alaska

Location:  Ketchikan, Alaska

Approaching the anchorage, Owyacumish Bay / Brim River, Gardner Canal

At the end of the last blog, we were in Pruth Bay.  We stayed there another day and did some more beach walking.

Thursday, July 19, Pruth Bay:  I got up in the middle of the night to have a look at Mars.  They have been talking about it on the morning net and it was a treat to see it amongst the bright night stars.  An ITB (integrated tug barge) pulled into the anchorage early this morning, bringing supplies to the Hakai Institute.  After the morning boater’s net, we went over to visit Roly and Marian on their boat Tropic Isle.  They also participate in the boater’s nets and Roly keeps a web site with pictures of the participating boaters and their boats.  For those of you curious about the boater's nets, there are two that operate in the Pacific Northwest.  The Great Northern Boater's Net, the morning net on frequency 3870 KHz, starts at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).  Darlene (call sign KL0YC) from Dora Bay, Alaska runs the northern portion of the net until 8:00 a.m.  The southern portion of the net starts at 8:00 a.m. and is handled by various net controllers depending on the day of the week.  The northern portion of the net is only on during the summer cruising season but the southern portion runs all year (the web link above goes to an article about the GNBN; Barbara, featured in the article, retired from being the main net controller for the southern portion of the net earlier this year because of health concerns).  In the evening, the West Coast Boater's Net, on frequency 3860 KHz, comes on at 6:00 p.m. PDT.  The evening net takes calls from Northern California to Northern Alaska and runs from late spring to early fall.  All ham radio operators are welcome to participate in the nets.  

Picture of the trails from Pruth Bay to the beaches.  The white X shows our anchoring location.
The red lines show the trails we walked from the Hakai Institute docks to West Beach, North Beach and the South Beaches.

After our visit, we went ashore to catch up on some internet.  A light, misty rain started to fall so we went back to the boat for lunch and chores.  Later in the afternoon the rain stopped and the sky cleared up.  We went ashore and walked the trails to the south beaches.

Dave between two rocks on West Beach

B on the trail between West Beach and the South Beaches

An immature bald eagle in a tree overlooking one of the south beaches.
He flew to this perch as we were walking underneath and wasn't a bit concerned about us being there.

Friday, July 20, Pruth Bay to the McNaughton Group (22 nm, 3.2 hours):  We got underway about 8:30 and headed north towards Hakai Passage and the northern portion of the Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy Area.  We crossed Hakai Passage into Queen Charlotte Sound and the rolling swell of the Pacific.  The book I’ve been reading, Fishing with John, describes the islands and rocks in this area so it was interesting to connect the landmarks and imagine what it was like to fish from a troller here in the 1960s.  We turned east into Cultus Sound (according to one of our guide books “Cultus” means worthless or good for nothing in Chinook jargon) and then turned north into the McNaughton group of islands.  We anchored in a cove called McNaughton NW or “Great Salt Lake Anchorage”.  It was overcast and rainy so we spent the afternoon reading and doing chores and maintenance. 

Sunset at McNaughton NW

Saturday, July 21, McNaughton Group to Wigham Cove via Goose Island (34 nm, 4.9 hours):  Anchor up this morning at 8:30 after listening to the morning net.  We picked up the crab trap, 4 small rock crabs so we didn’t keep any, then moved over to the prawn trap, only a sea cucumber in it.  A couple in a canoe, Eric and Meghan from Kamloops, were paddling by and we talked to them for a while.  They, and their dog Tia, were spending a couple of weeks camping and paddling along the central BC coast. 

Eric, Meghan and their dog Tia, canoeing the central BC coast.

Near the exit from Cultus Sound, we counted ten fishing boats along the shore.  We crossed Queens Sound to the Goose Island Group and anchored in the bay between Goose and Gosling Islands.  As we were eating our lunch, we spotted a sea wolf making its way across the flats between the two islands. 

Sea wolf crossing between Goose and Gosling Islands

According to one of our guide books the sea wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf which has adapted to living on salmon, crustaceans, herring roe and other sea life.  We launched the dinghy and explored the east coast of Gosling Island and did some fishing.  Dave caught a nice ling cod. 

Ling cod in the bottom of the dinghy

Dave filleting his fish.

Goose Island doesn’t have an all-weather anchorage, so we heaved anchor mid-afternoon and headed north/north east.  As we were transiting Raymond Passage, with no warning signs or alarms, we lost all of our electrical power – we had no steering, no navigation system, nothing electrical.  We pulled the throttle to neutral and Dave went down to the engine room.  The inverter/charger was shut-down which meant no engine room lights.  He tried to reset the inverter/charger but nothing happened.  We decided to start the generator and use it to power our electrical systems.  That worked.  We proceeded the remaining 8 nm to Wigham Cove, our anchorage for the night, with both the main engine and the generator running.  Once we got safely anchored up, we shut everything down.  After a quick review of the battery system manuals, we reset the battery monitoring system (BMS) and restarted the batteries.  Success!  All systems came back online.  We were just happy that it happened in a wide open channel with no traffic and not while we were transiting the rapids or a busy seaway.

Sunday, July 22, Wigham Cove to Bottleneck Inlet (39 nm, 5.5 hours):  We got underway this morning at 8:30 and headed west up Seaforth Channel then turned north into Finlayson Channel.  After some more studying, we decided the electrical shutdown yesterday was caused by the BMS triggering a Full High Voltage Cutoff.  When the voltage in the battery bank reaches 29.2 Volts (24V system), the BMS triggers a High Voltage Cutoff (HVC) after 10 seconds and deactivates all charging sources.  If any individual cell in the batteries reaches 3.9 V or the sensors detect excessive heat, the BMS triggers a Full HVC and deactivates both the charge sources and the loads.  Now that we understand what happened, we’ll be able to recover more quickly if/when it happens again. 

Ivory Island Lighthouse, at the junction of Millbanke Sound and Seaforth Channel

We turned into Bottleneck Inlet mid-afternoon, anchored up and settled in.  A few boat chores then we grilled chicken for supper while watching the eagles and kingfishers feeding along the shore.  All went well with the electrical systems today.

Monday, July 23, Bottleneck Inlet to Bishop Bay Hot Springs (53 nm, 7.8 hours):  During the morning net this morning, we mentioned that our destination for the day was Butedale.  Another boater came on and said that Butedale was under construction and closed so we decided to do a long run and go to Bishop Bay Hot Springs instead.  Butedale is an old cannery site that is in a state of decay with a nice waterfall in front of it.  Somebody bought the property a few years ago and is in the process of fixing up the docks and the shore area. Before heaving anchor, I went for a quick paddle around the inlet on my SUP while Dave did some modifications on the battery box cover to make it easier to open quickly.  We timed our departure to catch Hiekish Narrows near slack water and were underway about 9:30.  A few humpback whales were feeding in the channel near Butedale and we could see the excavator working on shore along with some smoke from the burn piles as we passed by.  One of the mooring buoys near Bishop Bay Hot Springs was open so we tied to it and then settled in for happy hour and supper.  We launched the dink and went ashore for an evening soak in the hot tub then finished off the day with a night cap on the stern.

Dave soaking in Bishop Bay Hot Springs

Tuesday, July 24, Bishop Bay Hot Springs to Brim River, Gardner Canal (40 nm, 5.5 hours):

We motored out of Bishop Bay about 8:30, after the morning net, which has been our pattern lately if we don’t have to worry about the timing for the currents at any rapids or narrows.  We headed north up Ursula Channel, west in Verney Passage, south in Alan Reach and then west in Gardner Canal.  We turned into Owyacumish Bay/Brim River and anchored near the waterfall at the head of the bay. 

Looking across the Gardner Canal from the mouth of the Brim River, Seabiscuit at anchor

The Gardner Canal is lined by steep, sheer granite walls, the bowls in the mountains hold remnants of glaciers and the water is a milky blue/green color because of the glacial run off.  Sitting in the boat at the base of the mountains reminded us of being in the Yosemite Valley, looking up at the steep granite walls there.  We spent the afternoon watching a mother merganser and her two chicks fish along the shore, along with the eagles, seagulls and seals.

Wednesday, July 25, Brim River to Europa Hot Springs (11 nm, 1.6 hours):  We launched the kayaks this morning and paddled up the Brim River to the first shallow rapids.  The mother merganser was out with her two chicks and we saw four bald eagles, two mature and two immature.  There is a large sand bar just before the rapids and we saw some bear tracks along the shoreline in the sand.  We didn’t see any salmon, but they must be heading this way since the bears seem to be checking for them.

Bear tracks on a Brim River sand bar

Dave paddling his kayak along the shore, Brim River, Gardner Canal.

We heaved anchor about 10:30 and headed back the way we came towards Europa Hot Springs.  Both mooring buoys were open so we tied to the one closest to the hot springs.  After lunch, we launched the dinghy and went ashore for a soak in the tub.  The horse flies were out and we didn’t stay long before retreating back to the boat.  We waited for the cool evening breeze to come up and for the horse flies to go away, then did a few outside chores and had happy hour and supper on the stern.

The structure at Europa Hot Springs.  Two hot spring pools are on the lower level.  The smaller, outside pool
has a plug that can be used to drain it.  It is then refilled from the larger, inner pool. 
The second level has a bench and a picnic table.

Dave soaking in the small, outer pool at Europa Hot Springs.

Thursday, July 26, Europa Hot Springs to Coghlan Anchorage (51 nm, 6.7 hours):  We got underway this morning about 9:00 and motored to the intersection of Verney Passage, Devastation Channel and Alan Reach to try our luck fishing for halibut.  We fished for about an hour with no luck but we got to watch a few whales in the distance.  We headed north towards Weewanie Hot Springs where we planned to have a soak in the hot tub.  When we got close, we could see a boat unloading/loading a group of campers and a sailboat was on the mooring buoy near the hot springs shelter so we continued on.  We cut southwest through Sue Channel, between Hawkesbury and Maitland Island, and then turned south into Douglas Channel.  We anchored for the night in Coghlan Anchorage, near Hartley Bay.  Bijaboji, the story about Betty Lowman traveling from Anacortes, WA to Ketchikan, AK in her dugout canoe in 1937, describes how she was stranded on a ledge in Douglas Channel after getting caught in a storm.  This book vividly describes the people and settlements that Betty encountered while she worked her way up the coast; it brings to life the old canneries and float homes that are now just dilapidated pilings along the shore lines.

Friday, July 27, Coghlan Anchorage to Lowe Inlet/Verney Falls (20 nm, 2.9 hours):  A short run today so we listened to the net then heaved anchor and got underway at 8:30 to catch the flood tide up Grenville Channel.  As we turned northwest into the channel, we saw three humpack whales feeding and “bubble netting” near the shore.

The wind in Grenville Channel was blowing 25 – 30 knots from the northwest and the water was choppy but once we turned east into Lowe Inlet, the wind and the chop disappeared.  We anchored on the south side of Nettle Basin and settled in for the day.  We did some boat chores and some maintenance and watched several other boats come into the anchorage.

Saturday, July 28, Lowe Inlet/Verney Falls:  We kayaked over to Verney Falls this morning to look for bears.  The pool below the falls is full of salmon jumping and waiting to go upstream to spawn.  We saw a few eagles in the trees above the falls and some seals fishing but no bears.  We paddled around the Nettle Basin, past an old cannery site and along the shoreline.  We saw lots of starfish, small halibut and crabs along the bottom. 

Verney Falls

B kayaking in Nettle Basin

On the way back to the boat, we watched the boat next to us pull their crab trap and get two huge crabs.  They also said that they had a lot of prawns in the trap they had dropped off in the main basin of Lowe Inlet.  We didn’t put out our traps, but we did some fishing off the stern for halibut and salmon; we didn’t catch anything.  We did some afternoon boat chores and some reading.  Doug and Janet from Sea Drifter stopped by for happy hour then we grilled steaks for supper.

Sunday, July 29, Lowe Inlet to Baker Inlet (26 nm, 3.5 hours):  Most of the boats in the anchorage left early this morning to catch the tide going south.  We were headed north so we hung around until 12:45 waiting for the tide to change before we heaved anchor.  I went for a paddle around the basin and we did a few boat chores.  As we exited Lowe Inlet into Grenville Channel, the wind was blowing 20-30 knots and the water was choppy.  The current in Grenville flows in and out from both the north and south ends and it meets near the middle, close to Evening Point; we got swirled around a little as we passed through the area where the currents meet.  We made fairly good time and turned into Watts Narrows close to high slack water.  Watts Narrows is a short, limited visibility passage that connects Baker Inlet to Grenville Channel.  Dave made a “securite” announcement on the VHF radio to inform other boaters we were transiting the narrows and we entered Baker Inlet.  We anchored near the head of the inlet and settled in for the night. 

Approaching the very narrow, almost hidden entrance to Watts Narrows and Baker Inlet.  It is near high tide.

Monday, July 30, Baker Inlet to Prince Rupert (41 nm, 5.3 hours):  Light fog this morning as we left the anchorage at Baker Inlet.  We exited the inlet via Watts Narrows at low tide and turned north in Grenville Channel. 

Exiting Baker Inlet via Watts Narrows at low tide.  The tree you see hanging horizontal in the middle of the photo is the same tree you seeing floating on the surface of the water in the above photo. 

We traveled in the fog most of the way to Prince Rupert.  The fog lifted as we approached the deep water Fairview Container Terminal on the west side of town.

Container ship being offloaded at the Fairview Container Terminal.

We tied up at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club and settled in.

Tuesday, July 31, Prince Rupert:  It was a nice, sunny day and we spent most of it wandering around town doing boat chores, shopping and errands. 

Mariner's Memorial Park, Prince Rupert

Wednesday, Aug. 1, Prince Rupert:  Another day in town doing chores, shopping and errands.

Artist touching up a mural on the side of a machine shop, Prince Rupert.

Thursday, Aug. 2, Prince Rupert to Ketchikan (80 nm, 10 hours):  We left the Prince Rupert Yacht Club at 7:00 this morning for our journey north to Ketchikan, Alaska.  We wound our way through Venn Passage, then turned north towards Dundas Island.  The seas were relatively calm with very little wind.  The fog settled in as we neared Dundas Island but cleared up again after we were north of it in Dixon Entrance.  Dixon Entrance is the entrance to the Pacific Ocean that separates the northern islands of British Columbia and the southern islands of South East Alaska.  Depending on the weather, crossing Dixon Entrance can be a challenge.  As we crossed, the winds remained light and the seas remained calm.  We picked up some of the northwest swell from the Pacific but is was low with a long period and wasn't uncomfortable.  We talked to a few boats on the VHF who were headed from north to south and provided them with information about the sea state and fog we had encountered in Dixon Entrance and south to Prince Rupert.  Since this is a long run, we had initially planned to divide it into two shorter voyages, but, the weather was good and the current was with us so we pushed on into Ketchikan.  As we approached the harbor, we radioed the harbormaster for a slip assignment and called U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to clear in.  We are tied up on the dock with the purse seiners in Thomas Basin, near downtown Ketchikan.

Purse seiners, our neighbors at the Thomas Basin docks.  Most of the slips next to us were empty when we pulled in.
These boats came in late last night after the fishery closed.

First cruise ship of the day pulling into the Ketchikan cruise ship dock.  There were four large cruise ships in town when we arrived and the harbormaster told us they average 3 - 4 cruise ships every day.

We're here in Ketchikan playing tourists and doing boat chores and maintenance for the next few days.  Patti and Al arrive for their summer vacation on Tuesday, August 7th to travel with us north up to Juneau.

Until next time...

The Broughtons, Nakwakto Rapids, Seymour and Belize Inlets, Cape Caution

Location:  Prince Rupert, BC

Kayaking at the head of Allison Sound, Belize Inlet

Tuesday, July 3, Port McNeill to Bootleg Cove, Gilford Island (23 nm, 3.3 hours):  We filled our water tank, took up the garbage and recycling and had a last look through the shops in Port McNeill before leaving North Island Marina.  We left the dock at 10:00 and headed out through Cormorant Channel, just south of Malcolm Island.  We saw some humpback whales at a distance as we transited Blackfish Sound and up into Retreat Passage.  We dropped off the prawn trap then turned into Bootleg Cove, a small, one boat anchorage on the west side of Gilford Island.  We dropped off the crab trap and set our anchor in the middle of the cove.  After lunch, we launched the dinghy and tried our luck fishing in Retreat Passage but didn’t catch anything.  We took a dinghy tour of Waddington Bay then spent the rest of the afternoon unlaxing and reading.

Wreck on the shore of Bootleg Cove

Wednesday, July 4, Bootleg Cove to Pierre's Echo Bay (5 nm 1.1 hours):  Very short run today so we did a few chores before heaving anchor at 10:00.  No crabs but we got 25 nice prawns in the prawn trap.  We tied up at the docks at Pierre’s then had shrimp (prawn) burgers for lunch.  We hiked the trail around the head of the bay to Cliffside then back to Billy Proctor's Museum.  We bought some local books at Billy’s gift shop:  Fishing with John, Grizzlies and White Guys, and Bijaboji:  North to Alaska by Oar.  Back at the boat, we sat reading on the stern while we listened to a guy across the bay practicing US patriotic songs on his trumpet.  To celebrate the Fourth of July, Pierre’s had a prime rib barbecue with all the fixings.  The trumpeter kicked off the evening with “Oh Canada” followed by “The Star Spangled Banner” with the crowd singing along.  After supper, a local singer/guitar player entertained us.  The tables in Pierre’s dining hall are set up to seat 12 people and we enjoyed hearing about the adventures of the other folks at our table.  FYI, Pierre’s is for sale.  Anyone interested in buying/operating a charming marina in the Broughton’s should have a look. 

Sunset at Pierre's Echo Bay

Thursday, July 5, Pierre’s Echo Bay to Sullivan Bay (16 nm, 2.7 hours):  Another short run today.  Overnight, a sailboat at anchor had gotten his propeller tangled in a crab pot.  We watched him get towed into the Pierre’s, then we cast off our lines and headed to Sullivan Bay.  We tied up at the dock and settled in.  A rain squall moved through late in the afternoon.  At 17:00, we joined the other boaters for a potluck happy hour and listened to tales about their boating adventures.  Some of the folks who we met at Lagoon Cove were there with plans to head around Cape Caution the next morning.

Happy hour at Sullivan Bay

Friday, July 6, Sullivan Bay:  Boat chores and voyage planning today.  At 17:00 we walked up to the happy hour tent.  It was raining and only four other folks showed up which allowed us some time to get to know each other.  The restaurant at Sullivan Bay is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays so we moved inside for supper – prime rib with all the trimmings.  We sat with a couple who owns one of the floating homes on the docks and also owns a share of the marina.  They have done a lot of traveling and had some interesting tales to tell.  After supper, the two guys from the sailboat Thin Ice stopped by for a visit.  Both are ski instructors in Utah during the winter and spend their summers sailing.

Saturday, July 7, Sullivan Bay to England Point Cove, Drury Inlet (18 nm, 2.8 hours):  In order to cross Stuart Narrows into Drury Inlet at slack water we left the dock at 8:00.  We entered with no issues and made our way west up the inlet to Actress Passage which is at the entrance to Actaeon Sound.  We turned north and went through Actress Passage close to slack water.  Tug boats that use the passage frequently have mounted small unofficial navigation aids to mark the rocks on each side of the east channel into the passage.  We wound our way up through Snake Narrows and dropped off the prawn trap just south of Creasy Bay where we planned to anchor.  The bay was full of log booms so we went further north and anchored in England Point Cove behind a small island, which was a much more intimate anchorage than Creasy Bay.  We launched the dinghy and took it up to the rapids at Tsibass Lagoon.  They were running pretty fast and we didn’t attempt to enter.  We cruised along the shoreline and watched a black bear walk along the rocks and then into the woods.

The rapids into Tsiblass Lagoon.  Dave is pointing at a seal,

Bear on the shore near the high tide line.  Old logging equipment near the waterline.

We tried some fishing in the channel near our prawn trap.  I caught a dogfish, which we released.  The wind started to pick up and the clouds were moving in so we headed back to the boat for happy hour and supper.

Sunday, July 8, England Point Cove to Jennis Bay (11 nm, 2.1 hours):  A nice calm morning so I paddled the SUP around our cove and the shallow cove next door to look at the abandoned barge there.  We heaved anchor at 10:30.  The crab trap was empty and the prawn trap was full of small crabs.

Crabs in the prawn trap

We did some drift fishing near a rock in the middle of Drury Inlet.  We caught two small rock fish which we released.  We entered Jennis Bay and docked at the marina.  We spent the afternoon hiking the logging trails and picking berries.

Seabiscuit at the dock, Jennis Bay Marina

Monday, July 9, Jennis Bay to Allison Harbour (40 nm, 5.5 hours):  We left the marina at 10:30 to give ourselves time to pick up the prawn trap (12 small prawns) and to make it to Stuart Narrows for slack water.  We saw some whales spouting as we transited Wells Passage into Queen Charlotte Strait.  We had flat calm seas with very little wind for most of the voyage.  We anchored in Allison Harbour for the night.

Flat, calm seas in Queen Charlotte Strait

Sunset in Allison Harbour

Tuesday, July 10, Allison Harbour to Alison Sound (38 nm, 5.9 hours):  Anchor up at 7:00 in order to transit Nakwakto Rapids at slack water at 8:55.  Nothing in either the crab or prawn traps.  We worked our way north up Schooner Channel towards the rapids and encountered less current than we expected so we were about 30 minutes early.  We idled around Cougar Inlet until 8:30 then headed towards the rapids.  Nakwakto Rapids is known as one of the fastest rapids in the west (some say the world).  With ebb currents up to 14.5+ knots and flood currents up to 11.5+ knots, only Sechelt Rapids, northeast of Pender Harbour, runs stronger.  Turret Rock, also known as Tremble Island because it shakes when the rapids are running at maximum current, lies right in the middle of the passage. This You Tube Video of Nakwakto Rapids gives you an idea of how swiftly the currents can run.  Today the maximum ebb was predicted to be 11.9 knots and the maximum flood 9.6 knots.  Our average boat speed is 7 knots.  We passed Turret Rock on the west side against a slight ebb current, about 10 minutes prior to slack water.

The west side of Turret Rock, aka Tremble Island, as we went by at low slack water.

We cruised northwest up Seymour Inlet, then turned east into Belize Inlet.  The inlet became narrower and the walls became steeper the further east we went.  Along the way, there are several waterfalls on the north side of the channel.  About two-thirds of the way up Belize Inlet, we turned north into Alison Sound and transited the short narrows just inside the entrance.  We anchored at the head of the sound in the northwest corner and settled in. 

The anchorage at the head of Alison Sound

Wednesday, July 11, Alison Sound to Strachan Bay (25 nm, 3.7 hours):  This morning we launched our kayaks and paddled around the head of Alison Sound and up the creeks that drain into it.  It was near low water so we didn’t get very far upstream before it became too shallow to venture further. 

Although out of focus, this photo shows the scale of the mountains surrounding the head of Allison Sound. 
Taken from my kayak, our crab pot buoy is in the foreground and
Seabiscuit is at the base of the mountains in the background.

Kayaking up river in Alison Sound

In the shadows of the trees at the mouth of a creek that drains into Alison Sound

We heaved anchor at 11:00 and headed west down Belize Inlet, north up Mereworth Sound and then west into Strachan Bay.  We anchored in the inner cove at the southwest corner of the bay and settled in for the night.

Thursday, July 12, Strachan Bay:  Happy 7^th birthday to our granddaughter Maggie.  We launched the dinghy and took it to the log dump at the northwest side of the bay.  We spent the morning hiking the logging roads up into the mountains surrounding the bay and the afternoon unlaxing on the boat.

Overlooking Mereworth Sound from a logging road near Strachan Bay.

Doe and fawn, Strachan Bay.

Friday, July 13, Strachan Bay to Frederick Sound (48 nm, 6.5 hours):  Although we weren’t transiting Nakwakto Rapids today, we had to pass within 0.3 nm of it to get from our anchorage in Strachan Bay to the main arm of Seymour Inlet.  We didn’t want to get pushed around by the strong currents so we timed our voyage accordingly.  Ebb slack at the rapids was at 11:27, so we heaved anchor at 9:00, passed by the rapids at 11:00 and headed east up Seymour Inlet. 

Seals sunning themselves on a rock near the intersection of Mereworth Sound and Belize Inlet.

The wind was blowing 20 – 30 knots from the northwest and we had a following sea with 1 – 2 foot chop for the 20+ nm run up the inlet before our turn south into Frederick Sound.  Eclipse Narrows, at the entrance to Frederick Sound, was flooding at 3.5 to 4.0 knots when we entered.  The flow was laminar with no whirlpools or eddies and we crossed with no issues.  Once inside the sound, the wind and waves disappeared. The walls of Frederick Sound are steep granite and we lost our GPS heading as we were rounding the U-bend near the head of the sound.  Although the guide books report a large logging camp barge located at the head of the sound, it is no longer there.  We anchored in the middle and spent the afternoon watching ospreys, king fishers and seals feed on the bait fish in the area. 

Seabiscuit at anchor at the head of Frederick Sound.

Saturday, July 14, Frederick Sound:  This morning we watched as a logging camp crew boat dropped two loggers off at the small dock in the southeast corner of the anchorage. 

The dock at the head of Frederick Sound that leads to the logging road.

After breakfast, we launched the dinghy, tied it to the dock and went for a hike along the logging roads.  The road had a very gentle grade and it was easy walking.  We picked berries along the way and saw lots of bear sign.  We took a break in the shade of an old clear cut and then headed back down the road.  As we neared the bottom, we heard something go crashing into the woods – most likely a bear.

View of snow in the mountains.

We didn't see any bears but we saw a lot of bear scat where the logging road was lined with salmon berry bushes.

Sunday, July 15, Frederick Sound to Wawatle Bay (31 nm, 4 hours);  Breakfast then anchor up at 7:45.  We transited Eclipse Narrows with +/- 3 knots of current pushing us back out into Seymour Inlet. 

"The Logging Gypsy", a logging camp on a barge just west of Eclipse Narraows.

A float plane flying by as we transited west in Seymour Inlet.

The waters were calm and the wind was very light so it was a pleasant ride heading west this morning.  We anchored in Wawatle Bay around lunchtime, settled in and read our books.  Our plan for the afternoon was to go exploring the lagoons south of the anchorage so we launched the dinghy and waited for the tide to rise before heading out.  Although the tide was about half-way to high tide at our anchorage and rising, it was still ebbing out of the lagoons.  We attempted to transit the rapids into Woods Lagoon but quickly found bottom, shut-off and lifted the dinghy motor and paddled and rode the current back out into the main channel.  The water in the lagoon was very clear and we could see numerous bright orange sea stars clinging to the rocks just below the surface.  We continued south towards the narrow entrance that leads to Bamford, McKinnon and Nenahlmai Lagoons.  We carefully worked our way through the rapids and the ebbing tide.  Below the surface of the water we could see hundreds of salmon swimming against the current into the lagoons.  We had a quick look around but didn’t want to get trapped inside the lagoons by low water in the narrows so we turned around and headed back to the boat.

Taking the dinghy through the narrow entrance that leads to the three lagoons south of Wawatle Bay.

Bald eagle, Wawatle Bay.

Monday, July 16, Wawatle Bay to Skull Cove (15 nm, 2.2 hours):  Today was our day to cross back through Nakwakto Rapids so that we could continue our journey north up the coast.  Low slack, when the current changes from ebb to flood, was estimated to occur at 13:33 so we had some time in the morning to do boat chores and voyage planning.  We had a light lunch and heaved anchor at 11:30.  With the ebb current giving us a push, our scheduled arrival at the rapids was 45 minutes earlier than slack water.  We did a circuit around Charlotte Bay, an anchoring location near the rapids, to waste some time.  We motored up to the rapids about 20 minutes prior to slack, checked the status of the current flow and the whirlpools, decided the passage was doable and transited with no issues on the east side of Turret Rock.  As we exited, we spotted a pleasure craft and an LST hovering outside waiting for slack water prior to entering.  We made our way south down Schooner Channel and turned into Skull Cove to anchor for the night.

The east side of Turret Rock as we exited Nakwakto Rapids.

B dressed up for anchoring at Skull Cove

Tuesday, July 17, Skull Cove to Dawson’s Landing (40 nm, 5.1 hours):  Anchor up at 5:45 this morning for our journey north around Cape Caution.  A light fog hovered above the surface of the water with very light winds and some residual swell.  We timed our voyage to go past Slingsby Channel and the Outer Narrows just prior to high slack (turn to ebb).  The currents in Outer Narrows can run up to 7 knots on the flood and up to 9 knots on the ebb, and when the ebb current opposes a westerly wind some nasty chop can develop.  We didn’t know this when we went north around Cape Caution last summer and were surprised by the chop we encountered.   The fog cleared by the time we reached the north side of the cape and we are able to see the fleet of trollers fishing south of Egg Island.  We crossed Rivers Inlet and watched the small fishing boats from the nearby lodges working the area for salmon.  We cruised through Klaquaek Channel and north up Darby Channel to Dawson’s Landing where we tied up at the dock.  They have a different system for mooring; instead of tying to a cleat or bull rail, you secure your lines to loops of rope set into the docks. We did laundry, dropped off garbage, bought some groceries and visited with the other boaters.

Float plane preparing for take-off, Dawson's Landing.

Rick from American Dream (the boat in the photo) lassoing a log that docked itself between our boats. 
He towed it out into the channel with his dinghy.  We passed it on our way south the next morning.
In the foreground, you can see one of the loops set in the dock that you tie up to when you dock.

Wednesday, July 18, Dawson’s Landing to Pruth Bay (26 nm, 3.5 hours):  This morning we filled our water tank, bought some cat food at the store and pulled away from the dock at 9:30.  It was a nice cruise down Darby Channel, into Finn Bay, across Fitz Hugh Sound and down Kwakshua Channel to Pruth Bay.  We saw a humpback whale feeding in Finn Bay, lots of small fishing vessels working the east shore of Calvert Island and several vessels moving both north and south in Fitz Hugh Sound.  We dropped anchor near the middle of Pruth Bay amongst the other boats.  At the head of the bay is the Hakai Institute, a facility used for research and as a conference center.  We took the dinghy in, tied up to the dock and followed the trail through the woods to West Beach.  West Beach was a pleasant surprise after the rocky shores found along most islands in this area.  It is wide and flat with fine white sand extending in both directions.  We walked to the north side of the beach and then took the trail through the woods to North Beach which faces Hakai Pass.

A map of the trails near Hakai Institute.  The white X shows our anchor location and the red lines
show the paths to West Beach, North Beach and the south beaches.

B walking on West Beach.

A pond along the path to North Beach

Drift wood on North Beach.

A raven near the sitting area at the top of the dock, Pruth Bay.  You can see its mate sitting on the box behind it. 
It was interesting to watch their antics, picking flowers from the flower pots and moving clam shells around.

When we got back to the Pruth Bay side of the trail, many of the boats that were anchored when we went ashore had left and several new ones had arrived.  For supper we had smoked salmon from Bella Coola Valley Seafoods that we had purchased at the Dawson’s Landing store.  

Thursday, July 19, Pruth Bay:  We are spent another day in Pruth Bay today.  It rained lightly in the morning, but cleared up enough for a beach walk in the afternoon.  More details in the next blog.

Note:  This blog was almost ready to post when we were in Pruth Bay but we ran out of internet data before getting all of the photos uploaded and we haven't had any internet since then.  We're in Prince Rupert now, with good internet, so will post this and then follow up with another blog about our travels between Pruth Bay and Prince Rupert.

Until next time...